There are several types of mental disorders. Some of them include obsessive-compulsive personality disorders (OCPDs), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia.
One type of mental illness known as obsessive compulsive personality disorders (OCPDs) includes an anxiety disorder characterized by obsessive thoughts and behaviors. People who have this disorder have problems with obsessive and repetitive thoughts and behaviors. They often do not recognize when they are thinking about these thoughts and tend to repeat them without interruption.
Another type of mental disorder is called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). People suffering from this condition are often impulsive and hyperactive. Their impulsivity is extreme and they cannot control their impulses and behaviors. People with ADHD often lack focus in both their academic and social lives.
Schizophrenia is a serious psychiatric disorder and involves abnormal behavior. Individuals with this mental illness often feel “off” when they are faced with their problems. They often find it difficult to interact with people and can become very detached from the world around them. Schizophrenia has no known cure, but patients who have it can live normal lives.
Psychosis is not a mental illness, but rather the mental illness itself. There are various forms of psychosis, ranging from hallucinations to delusions. The symptoms of psychosis include distorted perceptions of reality, seeing and hearing things that are not there, hearing voices or images that are not real and being unusually sensitive to certain things, such as smells, sound and touch.
While some mental illnesses do not cause abnormal behavior, some types of mental illness such as schizophrenia and OCD can cause a person to have abnormal behavior due to their mental illnesses. As with mental illness, it is not possible to diagnose mental disorders on the basis of symptoms alone.
Abnormal psychology helps psychologists and psychiatrists determine the cause of a person’s behavior and provide an understanding of how it affects his or her life. Psychologists use a variety of tests to determine if a person is suffering from abnormal behavior.
One test to look for abnormal behavior is the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory or MPI. This is a two-hour test that involves a total of 72 questions that is designed to determine a person’s level of personality disorder.
Another test used to assess abnormal behavior is the Profile of Mood States, which is also known as POMS. A total of 72 questions are used in the test to determine a person’s mood and emotional instability.
Some psychiatrists also use the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV (DSM-IV) as their diagnostic test for diagnosing a person’s mental disorder. A total of 72 questions are used in the test. The test also requires the patient to provide information about his or her medical history and symptoms.
Another test that is often used is the Structured Clinical Interview for the Self-Report Measurements for the Research of Personality Disorder or SCID-P. This test is taken over one-half hour. It involves a total of eight sessions and the patient will be asked questions about his or her current mental health and past mental health history.
Sometimes doctors conduct an interview with a patient to test the person on his or her own symptoms. The interview may include asking questions about any unusual behavior that he or she may be having.
